Zigzag Explained

A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular.

In geometry, this pattern is described as a skew apeirogon. From the point of view of symmetry, a regular zigzag can be generated from a simple motif like a line segment by repeated application of a glide reflection.

Although the origin of the word is unclear, its first printed appearances were in French-language books and ephemera of the late 17th century.^[1]

Examples of zigzags

• The trace of a triangle wave or a sawtooth wave is a zigzag.
• Pinking shears are designed to cut cloth or paper with a zigzag edge, to lessen fraying.^[2]
• In sewing, a zigzag stitch is a machine stitch in a zigzag pattern.^[3]
• The zigzag arch is an architectural embellishment used in Islamic, Byzantine, Norman and Romanesque architecture.^{[4] [5]}
• In seismology, earthquakes recorded in a "zigzag line" form by using seismograph.^[6]

See also

• Serpentine shape
• Infinite skew polygon

Bibliography

• Wedgwood . Hensleigh . Hensleigh Wedgwood . On Roots mutually connected by reference to the term Zig-zag . Transactions of the Philological Society . 1855 . 2 .

Notes and References

1. Book: Liberman . Anatoly . Word Origins...And How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone . 2009 . Oxford University Press, USA . 978-0-19-538707-0 . en.
2. Book: Shepler . Missy . Brent . Rebecca . The Complete Idiot's Guide to Sewing . 2011 . Penguin . 978-1-101-51368-2 . 84 . en.
3. Book: Gardiner . Wendy . Knight . Lorna . The Sewing Machine Accessory Bible: Get the Most Out of Your Machine---From Using Basic Feet to Mastering Specialty Feet . 2011 . Macmillan . 978-0-312-67658-2 . 34-35 . en.
4. Book: Terry . Allen . A Classical Revival in Islamic Architecture . Wiesbaden . 1986 . 4.
5. Book: Pisa and the Dome of the Rock . 2nd . Terry . Allen . Solipsist Press . Occidental, California . 2008 . electronic publication . 978-0-944940-08-2. January 28, 2012.
6. Web site: Seismograph - What is a seismograph? . 8 January 2023 . SMS-Tsunami-Warning.com .